Akamai has acquired a small infrastructure provider called Linode for $900 million, which it says will allow it to provide a developer-friendly and massively distributed computing platform. The deal gives Akamai a beachhead from which to expand into applications at the network edge, and trade on Linode’s reputation. Linode’s low price points and embracing of AMD’s new offerings has led it to achieve a favorable opinion in the industry, some 19 years after going into business. It focuses on providing only the infrastructure to developers, allowing them to run what they like on the hardware. For Akamai, every Linode user is now another sales opportunity for Akamai’s services. Akamai says it will “become the world’s most distributed compute platform, from…